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School budget OK'd; 'uncertainties' exist
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Superintendent David Woodall warned members of the Benson School Governing Board last week, that while they are meeting the July 15 deadline in approving the $6.6 million budget, there are many uncertainties to follow.
While the budget approved is almost exactly the same as the total from last year, Woodall said they are being asked to manage with 90 more students and a lot of unknowns.
Woodall said that the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer may have approved education funding in an emergency session, there are still a lot of unanswered questions that won't be addressed until at least October.
Each year, Woodall said it's common for a school district to make one or two amendments to the budget, however, this year he expects they will be making four or five amendments as state lawmakers continue to address issues.
Some of those issues include soft capital and excess utility expenses for school districts. While Benson is already looking at a 5-percent budget decrease, Woodall said they are facing the reality that they will be losing soft capital funds and money for excess utilities.
Woodall said soft capital is up in the air; by October they may find out that portion of the budget was cut by as much as $200,000.
"We are certain to have to revise the budget four or five times this year," Woodall said. "We are still using forms the state gave us even before the governor's veto of the first budget, so really, we still aren't using real numbers. All we've really done is meet the July 15 deadline."
Woodall said there are concerns as lawmakers are looking to eliminate excess utility funds completely. For Benson, that could mean as much as $100,000. The excess utility fund gives districts some relief when utility bills are higher than expected.
Woodall said the district is really looking at some 'belt-tightening" in the amount of about $250,000.
This is going to be made possible by not filling about eight positions vacated by teachers retiring or resigning at the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Woodall said he expects the district to provide the same amount of services, with members of the remaining staff expected to step in and help pick up the slack.
In other board matters, Lori McGoffin addressed the board concerning Benson Middle School's summer reading program.
At the end of the school year in May, parents of seventh- and eighth -graders were sent a letter outlining a summer reading program, with a list of books to be read and a notice that students would be tested at the beginning of the upcoming school year.
The May 29 letter, signed by middle school staff members, said, "As a new requirement for seventh grade, all students are to read the assigned novel over summer vacation. Upon returning in August, all seventh- graders will be required to take the AR quiz. This book is worth six points and will be the first grade of the new school year. Make it a good one."
A similar statement was made for eighth-grade students.
McGoffin, a city councilwoman, said a suggested summer reading program is fine, but requiring students to read, and then quizzing them at the beginning of the school year is wrong, noting that it could also affect new students who weren't aware of the requirements.
McGoffin was also concerned at the beginning of the summer when she couldn't find the books to purchase or even check out at Benson Public Library.
After McGoffin and other parents complained, an explanation letter was sent to parents on July 1.
Signed by the same staff members, the letter said, "We understand there has been difficulty in obtaining these books from the local library and other book vendors so we have acquired several copies of each of the books. There are currently copies of all books available for checkout in the middle school office. Once school starts in the fall, all books will be available for check out in the library.
"Many parents have expressed concerns about the expectations regarding assignments and quizzes. Students will be expected to read the recommended books and take these quizzes, but each student will have the opportunity to take the quizzes anytime during the first quarter upon returning to school. Students are not going to be required to take AR quizzes the first day of school."
While the governing board did not take action on the matter, they did tell staff to do a better job of communicating in the future.
Superintendent David Woodall warned members of the Benson School Governing Board last week, that while they are meeting the July 15 deadline in approving the $6.6 million budget, there are many uncertainties to follow.
While the budget approved is almost exactly the same as the total from last year, Woodall said they are being asked to manage with 90 more students and a lot of unknowns.
Woodall said that the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer may have approved education funding in an emergency session, there are still a lot of unanswered questions that won't be addressed until at least October.
Each year, Woodall said it's common for a school district to make one or two amendments to the budget, however, this year he expects they will be making four or five amendments as state lawmakers continue to address issues.
Some of those issues include soft capital and excess utility expenses for school districts. While Benson is already looking at a 5-percent budget decrease, Woodall said they are facing the reality that they will be losing soft capital funds and money for excess utilities.
Woodall said soft capital is up in the air; by October they may find out that portion of the budget was cut by as much as $200,000.
"We are certain to have to revise the budget four or five times this year," Woodall said. "We are still using forms the state gave us even before the governor's veto of the first budget, so really, we still aren't using real numbers. All we've really done is meet the July 15 deadline."
Woodall said there are concerns as lawmakers are looking to eliminate excess utility funds completely. For Benson, that could mean as much as $100,000. The excess utility fund gives districts some relief when utility bills are higher than expected.
Woodall said the district is really looking at some 'belt-tightening" in the amount of about $250,000.
This is going to be made possible by not filling about eight positions vacated by teachers retiring or resigning at the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Woodall said he expects the district to provide the same amount of services, with members of the remaining staff expected to step in and help pick up the slack.
In other board matters, Lori McGoffin addressed the board concerning Benson Middle School's summer reading program.
At the end of the school year in May, parents of seventh- and eighth -graders were sent a letter outlining a summer reading program, with a list of books to be read and a notice that students would be tested at the beginning of the upcoming school year.
The May 29 letter, signed by middle school staff members, said, "As a new requirement for seventh grade, all students are to read the assigned novel over summer vacation. Upon returning in August, all seventh- graders will be required to take the AR quiz. This book is worth six points and will be the first grade of the new school year. Make it a good one."
A similar statement was made for eighth-grade students.
McGoffin, a city councilwoman, said a suggested summer reading program is fine, but requiring students to read, and then quizzing them at the beginning of the school year is wrong, noting that it could also affect new students who weren't aware of the requirements.
McGoffin was also concerned at the beginning of the summer when she couldn't find the books to purchase or even check out at Benson Public Library.
After McGoffin and other parents complained, an explanation letter was sent to parents on July 1.
Signed by the same staff members, the letter said, "We understand there has been difficulty in obtaining these books from the local library and other book vendors so we have acquired several copies of each of the books. There are currently copies of all books available for checkout in the middle school office. Once school starts in the fall, all books will be available for check out in the library.
"Many parents have expressed concerns about the expectations regarding assignments and quizzes. Students will be expected to read the recommended books and take these quizzes, but each student will have the opportunity to take the quizzes anytime during the first quarter upon returning to school. Students are not going to be required to take AR quizzes the first day of school."
While the governing board did not take action on the matter, they did tell staff to do a better job of communicating in the future.
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